Port installs latest fingerprint machine at airport

The Port Administration has increased their ability to ensure security in the airport’s secure areas with the installation of a Morpho Trak fingerprint machine, says Port Director Taimalelagi Dr Claire Tuia Poumele.

The $20,000 machine was first used last Monday.

The Port Director stated that she will be working with DPS Commissioner William Bill Haleck in case they need to utilize this machine for their day to day work.

Tuifaleamato Ropati Atimalala Tagoivailoa, Assistant Director of Security and Safety at the Port told Samoa News that all airport employees, all contractors, all vendors, airline carriers and their personnel desiring business in the secured areas, will have to satisfactorily undergo a criminal history records check.

He made it clear that it’s not for the traveling public.

Tuifaleamato also noted this is not the first time the Port had has a machine of this type but said this was the latest and most updated version of a machine they once had.

In an interview with Samoa News, Tuifaleamato said this machine is a live scan morpho application software and it’s computer monitor can have the fingerprinting done and automatically transmitted to the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This machine is hooked into the FBI database where criminal history records are checked for those who wish to gain entrance to the airport. He says the results can be there within 15 minutes, and at the latest — two days.

Tuifaleamato said this machine is a product of MorphoTrak (Safran group), which is the world leader in multibiometric technologies, including fingerprint, iris and face recognition, and an acknowledged expert in identification systems. He said its solutions meet a wide range of security needs for people, companies and governments worldwide, including identity management, personal rights for residents and travelers, physical access to airports or other high-value sites, and logical access, either online or via secure terminals.

He explained that having this latest model for fingerprinting is much needed as it is a federal regulation that all employees and everyone working inside the Airport’s secured area undergo criminal background checks.